A Train Cake for a Twoo Twoo

This past weekend (also Mother's Day weekend), we celebrated part two of Alexander's second birthday with my side of the family. My super talented sister, Susy, worked her magic and created this  super cute vintage inspired train engine cake for his twoo twoo.   Alexander is obssessed with trains, so it was only fitting we would do a choo choo inspired celebration. Though we didn't have a party for him, we still wanted to celebrate him and make his second birthday feel really special...  I think we accomplished just that.

 If would like a custom cake for your celebrations, reach out, and I can pass Susy's contact to you. 

Xx,  Rocio

Alexander is Two

Alexander turned two a week ago.  I can't even believe two years have gone by since I held him in my arms for the first time. The last two years have been such a gift + joy. I am truly so grateful and thank the universe each and every day for blessing me with his life.  

My baby is now a boy! Alexander is so full of joy and life. His energy is soo contagious. He is a chatter box, he has a huge personality, he is so playful, and loves to laugh + have fun. He is also the sweetest, most loving and kind little human I know. He is curious, smart, and determined. He is constantly repeating new words and phases, asking questions like "what's that", "is that a plane ... school bus??".

I love that he loves to cuddle with his Mama. He even gets a little feisty when Daddy hugs me and doesn't include him for a family hug. Did I mention family hugs are the best these days? Yup. They are --specially when Alexander says "hugs". He is a great hugger and his besos (kisses) are extra sweet. 

Alexander loves trains, planes, cars, school buses and sports (typical boy!?), but he seems to favor hockey... I always knew he was a wild one at heart. He loves pizza, pasta, fruits, and broccoli. He loves to run around, ride the Tonka truck down the drive way, he loves walks with Mami, being tickled, and going to the park. He also loves loves books, instruments, and music. 

Letter to Alexander

"Alexander, your birthday was extra special this year.  Lola + Papa came up to visit, we went to the zoo and you had pasta for lunch. You were the life of the restaurant, you celebrated, sang happy birthday and toasted "cheers" over and over. You ran around in an open field... wild and free. You had ice cream cake for the first time and you really enjoyed it. We laughed and hugged  and kissed. We sang and danced and played. You really enjoyed yourself and so did we.

We celebrated your birthday times two. Abuy, Nona, Beba, Tita, Yandel and Elena also came to celebrate you turning twoo twoo.  Tita baked a choo choo train just for you and you loved spending time with everyone."

Happy Birthday, Sunshine. Love always, Mami. 

Xx,  Rocio

Life Lessons | My Child Taught Me

Today, Alexander turned 18 months. Happy 18 months to Xander --and us (mami and daddy)!!

If I had to choose one word to sum up the last 18 months, it would be growth. Our family literally grew from being just Allan and me, to being our little family of three.  The first year of Xander’s life was a really steep learning curve for all of us (especially me). Adjusting to life with a baby takes a lot of work, patience, learning, adjusting, trial + error (lots of trial and error), re-learning and re-adjusting. Some days (and weeks) were harder than others, but I would not change a thing.  In the last 18 months, I have learned so much about myself, my child, from my child, and from our family + couple dynamics. The learning curve was steep and so was the growth experienced.

One of my absolute favorite things of being a mother has been to view the world through my child’s eyes.  Viewing the world through Xander’s eyes has been amazing + refreshing and I want to capture these moments, feelings and lessons learned because I really do not want to forget.

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Here are some life lessons Xander has taught me… (or reminded me)

Be Fearless // fearLESS

Xander has been a very busy and fearless guy from a very young age. Crawling, cruising, taking the first steps, learning how to walk (and wanting to go down stairs like a big boy at 11 months) takes a lot of courage. Letting go and falling (many, many times), getting up and trying, again and again, is a lesson I never want us (Xander and I) to forget. 

When Xander was 9 months old, we visited the Philippines (it was a trip of a lifetime) and Xander’s first time experiencing the ocean.  Xander seemed to be amazed by the body of water in front of him and by the sounds coming from it.  I took him to the shore to get his little feet wet, then went back out and sat down on the sand. He loved playing with the sand. He grabbed the sand, looked at it, felt it, and watched it slip out of his hands (he did it again)… and this play went on for a while. After he was done playing with the sand, he stopped for a while to just stare at the ocean and take it all in. Shortly after, he began to crawl towards the water.  I watched him crawl towards the ocean until the small waves wet his little hands, knees and toes. Then, I helped him get up and together we walked a little further into the water.

As his mom, watching the joy on his face was priceless. The beauty of small children is that they don’t have a concept of fear, they are constantly learning from the world around them, and they are not afraid of falling, getting up and trying again. I don’t know at what age children learn fear, but I do know, I want to foster an environment where Xander (and my future children) are not afraid to try due to fear of “failure”. If we didn’t try (many, many times), we wouldn’t be able to master a skill we learn from a very young age… such as walking.  So we must walk through life with the conviction that skill and mastery takes many, many trials.

Be Adventurous  

Xander is the most adventurous little guy I know. He constantly reminds me that life is an adventure. Go adventure. Go explore. Go discover. 

Be Curious

He loves to explore everything around him. The curiosity and imagination of children is truly powerful beyond measure.

Be Assertive 

I have never met a tiny, little fella who is as assertive as Xander. He constantly reminds me to be self-assured and not seek external approval.

Be Persistent

Xander doesn't give up easily. He is very persistent, which makes for very interesting moments (learning patience is a virtue we have yet to master! It's a work in progress).  Nonetheless, persistence is a very important skill he knows all too well. 

Be Joyful

Xander is such a happy child. His smile brightens-up my world and his laughter is contagious. Children are so joyful/blissful/happy just because.

Be Loving

Xander is really sweet too.... He loves mami + daddy, puppies, children and people in general... And he gives us (Allan + I) the most awesome hugs (pretty much the best part of my day).

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As parents, it is important that we help our children preserve “The-Child-With-In”.

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Growth has truly marked the last 18 months of our lives and I’m so ready to continue embracing this path. From my experience, parenthood is slightly easier if we take some of the pressure off and recognize that we are all learning as we go and that all the answers we seek will appear when the moment is right. 

Xx, 

Rocio